


Cherry Candy Canes

by SunGreen70



Category: Whose Line Is It Anyway? RPF
Genre: M/M, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-20
Updated: 2014-02-20
Packaged: 2018-01-13 05:00:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1213627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SunGreen70/pseuds/SunGreen70
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Originally posted to Live Journal, December 2011, in a belated response to the Whose-a-Thon. Prompt: Chip/Jeff, cherry candy cane flavored kisses. This is set back when Chip and Jeff didn't know each other well yet. Their relationship was quite different!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Cherry Candy Canes

“Have a holly jolly Christmas, and… uh… la la la la, la la la…” Chip sang lustily as he made his way through the crowd, drink in hand.

“Wrong song, Rudolf!” Drew called from the opposite side of his enormous living room. Chip grinned, and reached up to flick on the blinking lights that adorned his plush reindeer antlers. They were ridiculously cheesy, but hell, it was a Christmas party. What’s more, it was a party to celebrate the US version of _Whose Line_ being renewed by ABC. Like everyone else in the room, Chip was in high spirits.

“Grandma got run over by a reindeer…” Chip sang obligingly. “Walking home from our house Christmas Eve…” Drew laughed and turned back to the guests he’d been chatting with. Chip trailed off, since no one else was listening, and accepted a fresh drink from the tray of a passing waiter. Peppermint schnapps, in a glass adorned with a cherry-flavored candy cane. Drew certainly liked to go all out with his party themes, Chip reflected with amusement, pausing to admire one of several fully decorated Christmas trees. This one was decked out with Disney-related ornaments. Chip smiled as he examined the Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck figures that hung among the fragrant fir branches.

Then he felt it again; the sense that a pair of eyes was boring into his back. Chip stiffened, and forced himself to turn around casually, scanning the room briefly as though looking for someone else before he allowed his eyes to fall on him.

Jeff Davis.

Jeff sprawled lazily across a small sofa, taking up the entire length of it. He was using his candy cane to stir his own drink; his dark eyes locked on Chip. He didn’t flush or look away, as anyone else might have upon being caught staring, but simply held Chip’s gaze with the hint of a smile.

As Chip watched, Jeff raised his eyebrows slightly and drew the candy cane out of his glass. With elaborate slowness, he brought it to his lips and slid it in his mouth, taking the full length of it inside and then drawing it out with equal languidness.

To his annoyance, Chip felt his cheeks redden, and he dropped his eyes, only to peek back at Jeff and find him still staring. Now Jeff looked amused as he sipped his drink.

His cheerful mood suddenly dissipated, Chip set his glass down on a nearby table, and stalked out the sliding doors onto the balcony. It was empty, the chilly night air keeping the other guests indoors.

Leaning on his hands against the railing, Chip looked out at the brightly lit Los Angeles skyline. He was startled to feel his heart pounding. He snorted. There was certainly no reason for Jeff to make him nervous.

Chip barely knew Jeff, having met him only a few times previously during weekends of taping _Whose Line_. They hadn’t done any shows together, but they’d both been hanging around the studio while waiting for their turn in front of the camera. Chip had never liked him.

Jeff was younger than the rest of the cast, with a resume twice as long. He’d been a child actor and worked steadily since he wasn’t much more than a baby. Much of Jeff’s life had been spent at one TV studio or another, and Chip had overheard Jeff telling stories about what went on behind the scenes that horrified him, and made him feel like an innocent in comparison. However, Jeff adopted such an elaborate air of weary cynicism when he talked about his exploits that made Chip wonder how seriously to take him.

What really grated on Chip’s nerves was the pleasure Jeff took in making the other players uncomfortable. He stood too close and invaded their personal space, both off camera and on. He peppered his conversations with suggestive remarks that only grew raunchier with any type of reaction, whether positive or negative. The other cast members responded to Jeff with varying levels of amusement and exasperation. However, no one else seemed to find him as annoying as Chip did.

It bothered him sometimes. Normally, Chip liked everyone, or could at least get along well enough with those he didn’t to tolerate their presence for as long as he needed to. But Jeff was different. Just being in the same room with him made Chip edgy, and he found himself trying to avoid him.

Unfortunately for Chip, he was Jeff’s favorite target. The more he tried to steer clear of him, the more Jeff appeared to step up his efforts to ruffle his composure. More often than not, Jeff succeeded.

He’d been on a roll tonight. Chip hadn’t spoken a word to him, but he’d been aware of his presence from the moment he’d arrived at the party. It seemed like every time he turned around, Jeff was staring at him. And then, when he was certain he had Chip’s attention, his little game with the candy cane.

Chip released a frustrated breath. This was ridiculous. He wasn’t going to let Jeff’s pranks ruin the party for him. He pushed off the railing and went back inside.

As he re-entered the living room, Chip’s eyes immediately fell on Jeff. Just the sight of him made him tense. For once, Jeff didn’t notice him. As Chip watched, he unfolded his lanky frame from the sofa and headed towards one of the bathrooms.

Not really thinking about what he was doing, Chip followed. He reached the bathroom just as Jeff disappeared inside. Chip opened the door and stepped in, closing it behind him. Jeff looked up with a start, but an irritatingly smug smile quirked his lips when he saw Chip.

“Chip. Welcome. Can I get you anything? Toothpaste? Urinal cake?”

Chip resisted the urge to shove Jeff’s head in the toilet. “What is your problem?” he demanded.

“Well, right now I’d say my biggest problem is that you’re blocking the can.”

Chip crossed his arms over his chest. “Why are you messing with me?’

Jeff looked at him blankly. “What do you mean?”

His expression registered complete innocence. And yet somehow Chip could detect the smirk lurking beneath the surface. He exhaled harshly and took a step closer, forcing Jeff to look at him as he spoke. “Look, just stop it. Stop staring at me, stop getting in my face, and stop it with the damn candy canes. Stop it, _now_.”

Jeff cocked his head to the side and regarded Chip thoughtfully. “You know, it’s hard to take you seriously when you’re wearing antlers.”

“Shit!” Chip yanked the wretched thing off his head and flung it into the bathtub. He’d forgotten all about it.

Jeff laughed. “I didn’t say you didn’t look _cute_.”

Angry now, Chip spun on his heel and fumbled for the doorknob. Before he could open the door, Jeff’s long arms in his suit jacket reached over his shoulders and held it closed. Chip turned, trapped in Jeff’s arms.

“What are you _doing?_ ” he demanded.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Jeff’s face was inches from Chip’s; his breath, scented with alcohol and peppermint, warm on his skin. “Sure you didn’t have another reason for coming in here?” He raised his eyebrows suggestively.

Chip scoffed in disbelief. “You have _got_ to be kidding.”

"Well, you followed me in here, where you knew I'd be alone... with my fly down." He grinned.

“You’re completely delusional,” Chip snapped. “Now, would you please get off me?” He pushed at the younger man’s arms, but Jeff held firm, his complacent smile still in place.

"It's okay, Chip. It'll be our secret. But this is a huge house. We can probably find a more comfortable place. Unless you have some kind of bathtub fantasy? I have to admit, that's never particularly appealed to me. But if you really - "

Jeff was cut off mid-sentence as Chip seized his face in both hands. “Is this what you want? Okay, fine!” Chip slammed their mouths together with enough force to feel the edge of Jeff’s teeth catch his lip. He tasted blood, which was quickly overpowered by the sweet tang of cherry flavored candy canes as Jeff’s lips parted slightly against his. It was a moment or two before he became fully aware that Jeff wasn’t resisting – was kissing him back. Even then Chip didn’t pull away until some small part of his consciousness registered that he was still kissing Jeff. That realization made him drop his hands and step back abruptly.

They stared at each other. Jeff looked startled but otherwise composed. There were red marks on his cheeks where Chip had grabbed him, and a speck of blood – or was it a piece of candy cane? – just below his lip.

Chip’s head was spinning with anger, confusion, and a multitude of other emotions he couldn't bring himself to try to define. _What the hell?_ he thought eloquently, his heart racing. _What the hell?_

“Yeah,” Jeff said.

Why did everything he said make Chip bristle? “Yeah _what?_ ” he snapped.

“Yeah, that’s more or less what I was looking for. It’ll do for a start, anyway.” Before Chip could reply, Jeff brought a hand up and twined his long fingers into Chip's hair. Chip could only stare at Jeff, whose expression was soft now, his dark eyes solemn. Chip swallowed as the younger man inclined his head towards him, and licked his lips nervously before Jeff brushed them lightly with his own.

“You know,” Jeff murmured up against Chip’s mouth, his fingers playing with a lock of Chip’s hair, “I still have to pee.”

Furious, Chip wrenched himself away and out of the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. Ignoring the stares of several guests standing nearby, he stalked through the crowd and down the hall, in search of his coat. He was shaking, from anger and something else that he couldn’t put a name to. He yanked open the first door he saw and found himself in a spare bedroom. It wasn’t the one in which he’d left his coat, but he stayed there anyway, taking deep breaths to steady himself.

“Hey.”

Chip turned and scowled at Jeff, who leaned against the doorjamb, studying him with his arms folded across his chest.

“ _What?_ ” Chip demanded. “What do you want?” When Jeff didn’t answer, he let out an exasperated breath. “Tell me! Why do you do that? Why are you always staring at me with your smug little face and making your little remarks, and annoying the crap out of me?”

Jeff shrugged. For the first time since Chip had known him, he looked a bit uncertain.

“Because I think you’re hot?” he ventured. “And… funny and, well… I like you.”

Chip turned away, startled. He stared at the bed before him without seeing it. His heart was pounding again.

“That’s just what I do,” Jeff added.

“Well, it’s no good doing any of it,” Chip retorted, his eyes still on the bedspread. Its’ paisley pattern began to register on his consciousness. Damn, it was ugly. “I’m married.”

Jeff chuckled slightly. Chip turned back around, frowning. “What?”

“Nothing,” Jeff replied. “Just… you really are new to this, aren’t you?”

“New to what?”

Jeff held out his hands in a helpless gesture. “Marriage doesn’t make much difference with this group,” he said. “Look at Colin and Ryan. You _do_ know about Colin and Ryan, don’t you?” he added, sounding more like his usual, smug self.

“Yes, I know about Colin and Ryan,” Chip snapped. “Just like everyone else in the world, including their wives. And I’ve known about it a lot longer than you have.”

“Then you should know they’re not the only ones.”

Chip tried not to show his surprise, but Jeff’s smile told him he had failed.

”It doesn’t matter,” Chip said impatiently. “I’m not interested.” He wasn’t sure why he couldn’t look Jeff in the eye when he said that.

Jeff scoffed. “So then what was that little scene in the bathroom about?”

Chip jerked his head up. “It was about getting you off my case, all right? You had your fun. Now will you just leave me alone?”

Jeff dropped his arms to his sides. "Look, all I’m saying is, maybe it’s not just me. Maybe the reason I’m always staring at you is because you stare at me first." There was a challenge in his expression as he held Chip's gaze.

Chip flinched, but kept his voice level as he spoke. "This is the last time I'm going to talk to you about this.  Whatever you think you know, you're wrong. And this is the last time I'm going to tell you. _Leave - me - alone._ "

Jeff started to say something, then seemed to think better of it. He dropped his eyes, looking suddenly deflated. “All right.".

Chip eyed him suspiciously for a moment, but Jeff didn’t meet his eyes. Chip pushed past him into the hall.

“Hey,” Jeff called after him. Almost against his will, Chip paused and looked back.

“I’m in your life now, you know,” Jeff said. “Hopefully for a long time, if the show takes off. So you should probably just get used to me.”

Chip snorted. “Let’s get one thing clear, okay? You may be in my life. But that doesn’t mean you’re ever going to be a _part_ of it.”

Jeff’s only answer was a shrug. At least he wasn’t smiling anymore. Chip turned and walked away, leaving Jeff alone in the empty bedroom.

Chip was no longer in a party mood. He searched through the long hallway until he found the bedroom in which his coat had been deposited, and yanked it on. Moving quickly back through the crowded living room, he didn’t make eye contact with anyone and hoped no one noticed him leaving.

Outside, the night air was bitterly cold, and stung Chip’s flaming cheeks as he stalked down the long driveway, not remembering where he’d parked. He stopped to get his bearings, glancing around at the lines of cars that stretched several blocks in both directions. As he hesitated, he tensed, with that eerie feeling of being watched that he’d had all night. Scowling, he hunched his shoulders and strode purposefully in a random direction. He would not look back at the house. Just in case Jeff really was standing at a window watching him. Always watching him.

He kept his resolve and never turned back as he walked quickly into the dark night. But as he finally spotted his car, Chip reached up and rubbed at his lips. They were sore, and his fingers came away sticky. Absently, Chip slid his tongue out and licked his lips, then stiffened as he recognized the taste.

Cherry candy canes.


End file.
